Key case



W. R. BUXTON.

KEY CASE.

APPLIFATION FILED MAY 20, 1920.

Patented J 1113' 25, 1922.

ATTORNEYS.

umrsn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARNER 0F LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 IBUXTON mconronnrnn, orSPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A conroaa'rron OF MASSACHUSETTS.

KEY CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1922.

Application filed May 20, 1920. Serial No. 382,866.

the like and, more particularly, to improvements in key cases of thetype disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,261,692 granted Aprll 2, 1918.

The key case of my prior patent utilized, as key supporting devices,snap hooks of the usual form. Such hooks satisfactorily perform theirfunction when made of good steel and properly tempered but. even w thgood steel, unless great care is taken in their manufacture (which meansconsiderably 1ncreased costs) it is difiicult to obtain hooks which willnot, after continued use, acqulre a certain degree of set. That is,eventually, the abutting ends, which form the break in the loop, willnot exactly meet, leaving a projection on the interior of the loop uponwhich the key may catch. Under some conditions, this results in the keyworking its way out of the loop directly between the ends, which shouldbe in close engagement to prevent such action. Thedifficultles withhooks of the ordinarv type 18 accentuated when the key,.while stillretained in the hook of the key case, is turned in the lock.

The turning of the key results in side strains on the loop, whichsometimes causes the mating ends of the loop to be bent out ofalignment, thereby permitting the escape of the key. Even when the snaphook 1s of proper temper, the turning of the key causes a strain on thelower part of the broken wall of the loop and tends to deflect it out ofline with the upper part of such wall and thereby permits the escape ofthe key. Thus, snap hooks of the ordinary type do not work out assatisfactorily in a key case, of the general type disclosed, as they doin other fields of general service, where the speclalconditions,incident to the use of the key case, are not encountered.

The object of this invention is to improve the key supporting devices ina key case of ing loopsof the usual shape but which are characterized byhaving the break or entrance and exlt portion, at the apex of the loop Inother object is to provide, in a device of the class described, hookshaving loops of usual shape but with the break at the apex, wherein oneend of the member forming the hook is adapted for a pivotal connectionand the other end of the member projects outwardly from the apex torevent. the key, when swung backwardly rom its normal pendant positionin the loop, from lying flat and in line with the apex of the loop,thereby rendering accidental dislodgment of the key from the loop moredifficult.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following descriptionand in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanyingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is an clevational view of the key case with theflaps opened;

Fig. 2 is a similar View with the flaps closed;

3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross plectllpnal view thereof, showing theimproved Fig. 4 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 and illustrative ofthe use of the projections on the hooks;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the pivot frame;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing a modification in the hook.

Referring to these drawings; the case proper comprises a strip offlexible material, such as leather or the like, which is foldable alongthe dotted lines 10, shown in Fig. 1, to form a back 11 and two flaps12, which may be folded in overlapping relation over the back 11, asindicated in Fig. 2, and removably secured together in any suitablemanner, as by the male and female snap fasteners 13 and 14 respectively.

Secured to the back 11, preferably adjacent the top thereof, is a frame15 which may advantageously be struck up from flat thin metal. The upperedge of frame 15 is bent over .to form an eye 16 for the reception of apivot pin 17 and is recessed vertically, as at 18, at a plurality ofpoints, corresponding in number to the number of key supporting devicesdesired. The frame 15 has at each of pin 17 and thereby facilitates theassemprojections 25.

blin operation.

T e key supporting devices consist of snap books, which are representedgenerally by reference letter h in Fig. 1, and are clearly shown indetail in Fig. 3. These hooks are preferably made up of sprin metal inthe following manner. One emf of the hook forming member is suitablyadapted for pivotal connection with pin 17, as by bending it into an eye20 and, from such eye, the body of the member, as 21, extends preferablyin a substantially radial'direction, as distinguished from tangentially,in order to allow the body portion to lie' substantially flat againstframe 15 as shown. The hook forming member is then bent backwardly uponitself and in generally converging relation with the body portion 21, asat 22, to form loops 23, which are of not unusual shape. The portion 22extends into abutment with the portion 21, or substantially so, therebyforming the apex 24: of the loop, the walls of which loop are otherwiseentirely unbroken as distinguished from the usual sna hook.

he free end of the hook forming memberis bent outwardly beyondthe apex24, as at 25, and in diverging relation to the portion 21. Thisconstruction facilitates the insertion of a key in the loop 23, theentrance to which is, of course, by way of the break in the apex 24 ofthe loop and between the abutting portions 21 and- 22. There is,however. an added reason for the They effectually prevent, as shown inFig. 4, the possibility of a key. as 70, when turned back from itsnormal pendant position in the loop, from lying flatly against the body21, or nearly so, or in such position that the key might readily beworked out of the-loop through its apex 24. The illustrated arrangementcauses the key to assume a decided inclination to the body portion 21,when thus positioned, and

increases the resistance to its removal through the apex by requiring agreater spread between the portions 21 and 22, which resistance is, inpractical effect, sufficient to prevent accidental dislodgement of thekey from the loop.

To still further guard against the accidental dislodgement of keys, moreparticu- -larly thin keys, from the loops of the snap hooks, the'lattermay be made in the manner shown in Fig. 7 Such hook is formed gen erallyas described but with this difierence, viz-that the members 21 and 22 attheir the key is greatly abutting portions are caused to engage along acurved line, as at 27. Thus, the area of engagement between thesemembers is materially increased and the liability of the key escapingcorrespondingly decreased. With this construction,, an appreciable gapbetween the members 21 and 22, due to permanent set in the material, mayexist without affording a straight path for the escape of even thinkeys.

The key case is used in substantially the same manner as set forth in myprior patent and it only remains to point out the utility of the specialform of hook. The absence of breaks in the side walls of the loops ismost important for there can never be, even after extended use, anyprojections on the side walls upon which the keys may catch and causeeventual dislodgement in the manner described. The entrance to the loop,by reason of its location at the apex, is entirely free of sharp cornersor projections, which might cause trouble and furthermore the break inthe loop is so remote from the usual position occupied by the key in theloop, that the liability of dislodgement of lessened. The projection 24likewise contributes toward prevention of dislodgement of the key fromthe loop, as heretofore described.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at, presentpreferred, for illustrative purposes but the scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is 1. A case for keys or the like, comprising a foldablesupporting strip, and a plurality of snap hooks pivotally supportedtherefrom in longitudinally spaced relation for swinging movement inarc-like paths of substantially constant radius, each of said hooks bentto form a substantially circular eye for said pivotal connection and theother end bentbackwardly upon the body portion to form a key retaininghook and extending in substantially convergent relation to the bodyportion until in abutment therewith to close the loop and then bent awayfrom the body portion and terminating at a short distance therefrom.

2. A case for. keys or the like, comprising a foldable supporting strip,a member secured to the latter and provided with a pivotal support aplurality of hooks mounted on said support, said member being providedwith openings in each of which one of said books is received, the wallsof said openings limiting each book in its longitudinal movement, eachof said hooks comprising a main body portion bent at one end to form asubstantially circular eye for engagement with said support and theother end of which is bent backwardly upon the body ,comprising a bodyportion having one end portion to form a key-receiving loop andconverges toward and eventually 1nto abutment with the body portion andthen bent outwardly in divergent relation to the body portion andterminating at a short distance therefrom.

3. A case for keys or the like, comprisin a foldable supporting strip,and a plura ity of snap hooks spaced from each other, and pivotallysupported therefrom and each adapted to removably support a key or thelike, each of said hooks comprising a member adapted at one end for saidpivotal connection and having a part extending away from such end and ata distance therefrom bent backwardly upon itself and extending inconverging relation to said part until in abutment therewith, saidbackwardly bent portion being curved adjacent the apex of the loop andadapted to be received in a correspondingly curved portion in said part.

4:. A case for keys or the like comprising a supporting strip, a membersecured thereto having a plurality of'tongues formed in one edge thereofand bent to provide alined bearings, a rod mounted in said bearings andheld against axial movement by lugs formed integral with said strip andbent over the ends of said rod, and a plurality of snap hooks each ofwhich is pivotally supported from said rod between adjacent tongues,said hooks being each formed with a portion bent back upon itself toform a loop for the receiption of a key and having the opposite endthereof bent closely about the rod to terminate in engagement with thebody portion of said hook.

5. A case for keys or the like comprising a supporting strip, a membersecured thereto having a plurailty of tongues formed in one edge thereofand bent to provide alined bearings, a rod mounted in said bearings andheld against axial movement by lugs formed integral with said strip andbent over the ends of said rod, and a plurality of snap hooks each ofwhich is supported from said rod, said hooks being each formed with aportion bent back upon itself to form a loop for the reception of a key.

6. A case for keys and the like, comprising, a foldablesupporting strip,a member secured thereto and affording a pivotal support, and aplurality of snap hooks pivotaly supported from t e latter inlongitudinally spaced relation and for swinging movement into and out ofthe case in arc-like paths of substantially constant radius, each ofsaid hooks comprising a member having one end so engaged with saidsupport as to permit swinging movement and restrain radial movement ofthehookrelative thereto and having a part extending away from such endand at a distance therefrom bent backwardly upon itself and extending insubstantially converging relation to said part until in abutmenttherewith, said backwardly bent portion being then bent away from saidpart and terminating at a short distance therefrom.

7. A case for keys or the like, comprising, a flexible supporting strip,a member secured thereto and provided with a plurality of slots,aplurality of hooks having a pivotal connection with said member andarranged in longitudinally spaced relation, said hooks extending throughsaid slots and limited in their longitudinal movement by engagement withthe walls thereof and free for swinging movement into and out of thecase along arc-like paths of substantially constant radius; each of saidhooks comprising a one-piece member having a part at one end adapted forsaid pivotal connection andv to permit said swinging movement, a partextending away from such end and at a distance therefrom bent backwardlyupon itself to form a key retaining loop, said backwardly bent portioneventually abutting the second named part near the other end of saidsecond-named member to close said loop.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

' WARNER R. BUXTON.

